Information
Consumers are increasingly looking for healthier food choices that deliver the taste, texture, and appearance they expect from traditionally fried products. At the same time, food processors are under pressure to reduce fat content and produce healthier products, lower operating costs, and improve sustainability throughout production. With decades of experience in prepared foods processing, JBT Marel helps manufacturers meet these demands with a complete industrial air frying solution.
Our industrial air frying solution covers the entire production process, from coating and oil application to cooking, freezing, and packaging. This integrated approach reduces supplier dependency, ensures seamless integration, and optimizes machine collaboration throughout the production line.
By combining controlled oil application with high-intensity impingement cooking, processors can produce products with significantly lower fat levels while maintaining the crispy texture, appealing color, and eating quality consumers expect from fried foods.
Coating
Consistent coating is essential for achieving the desired appearance, texture, and product performance in an air frying process. Our coating solutions apply flour, batter, breading, and seasonings in a precisely controlled and repeatable way, ensuring optimal coating pickup and adhesion. In industrial air frying, additional protein and spices are added during coating to ensure optimal end-product taste.
Oil application
Unlike traditional frying systems, industrial air frying uses precisely controlled oil application rather than immersion frying. Products are sprayed with a carefully measured amount of oil, typically between 4-6%, enabling manufacturers to control final fat levels while achieving excellent coating adhesion and color development.
Impingement cooking
Following coating and oil application, products enter the impingement cooking stage where high-velocity hot air is directed at the product surface from above and below the conveyor. This short, high-intensity cooking process effectively sets the coating, develops attractive color, and creates a crispy texture without the need for pre-frying.
The Double D Revoband offers precise control of airflow, temperature up to 270 degrees, humidity, and cooking conditions. This flexibility enables processors to optimize product quality across a wide range of applications while maintaining excellent consistency from batch to batch.
Freezing and packaging
After cooking, products can be rapidly chilled or frozen using industry-leading Frigoscandia freezing technology. For many years the Frigoscandia GYRoCOMPACT range of spiral freezers has set the industry standard for spiral freezer technology across the globe. A spiral freezer is advised in an industrial air frying line to meet the high throughput.
Combined with JBT Marel batching, tray sealing, weighing, and packaging solutions, processors can achieve a fully integrated production flow from raw material to finished retail or foodservice-ready products.
Applications
The industrial air frying solution is suitable for a wide range of coated and breaded products, including:
- Chicken and poultry products
- Fish fingers and fish fillets
- Seafood products
- Breaded vegetables
- Snack foods
- Formed meat and fish products
- Fries and selected bakery applications